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L.A. Times Festival of Books 2014: Day One and Day Two Recap Vlogs!

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Guys, doctor I just had SUCH an amazing weekend. This weekend was the annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at U.S.C., where the entire weekend is dedicated to the amazing culture of reading. It’s one of my favorite weekends of this year, and this year was no disappointment.

There was a team of five us: me, Sylvia from Fangirl Feeels, our friends Cassandra and Alexandra and my sister, Jessica. We had our game plans, and despite minor hiccups along the way, we managed to do everything that we wanted to do.

I met (and met again, for some) amazing authors this weekend: John Green (OHMYGOD), Rainbow Rowell, Lauren Oliver, Marissa Meyer, Sarah J Maas, Robin Benway, Veronica Roth, Lauren Myracle, Leigh Bardugo, Deb Caletti, Kiersten White, Andrew Smith and Stephanie Perkins.

But I won’t keep you from seeing my awesome vlogs. I vlogged while at the Fest so you get some pretty awkward and hilarious moments from me, a short video of my conversation with John Green and…lots of awkwardness haha.

Check it out!

Day One!

Day Two!

Yay! I hope you enjoyed seeing the awesomeness that was my weekend!

I managed to grab extra copies of Cinder, Anna and the French Kiss and Fangirl for a giveaway. There will NOT be a giveaway for the month of April (as of now), but there is a HUGE giveaway coming for my Blog Birthday in May so keep an eye out to see how you can get your hands on these books!

Oh! And don’t forget you can check out ALL the pictures on the What A Nerd Girl Says Facebook page here!

Happy Reading Everyone!

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Fictional Crush of the Week-Tony Stark from the Marvel Cinematic Universe

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Character Name:

Tony Stark a.k.a. Ironman

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Book or Series They Appear In:

To make life easier, for sale he appears in about a million Marvel comics and he is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe haha.

Ironman, medications Ironman 2, information pills Ironman 3, The Avengers, The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron

Author/Creator:

Larry Lieber, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Don Heck

Played By: 

Robert Downey Jr.

Who They Are:

I’m going to remind you guys again because I”m still getting complaints. My FCotW’s WILL be spoiler filled. Sorry. I’ve warned you so much time haha. 

Look, this could honestly be a whole novel in itself. I am not a comic book person, though I really wish I could be. But there’s so many different universes so I’m just sticking to the story we have of Tony Stark/Ironman in the MCU because that’s what I know.

Tony Stark is the head of Stark Industries, a billionaire and playboy with a reputation as big as the contents of his bank account. When he is captured while on a trip to promote his Stark weapons, he tries to figure out a way to escape and creates the Ironman suit. He learns that his company is selling weapons to the enemy behind his back and sets out to stop it and that’s kind of where his story goes from there. He is open about his identity as Ironman. He’s incredibly smart and goes from using that to develop and tries to create other things, like self-sustaining energy sources. He eventually becomes part of the Avengers and helps defend New York City from Loki and his invading alien race.

Why I Am Crushing On Them: 

Um, its Robert Downey Jr? Do you need anything else besides that?

Let’s be honest: I’d make out with anyone on the Avengers team, and that includes the girls. Chris Hemsworth as Thor? Sigh. Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye? Sigh again. Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk? Double Sigh. Chris Evans as Captain America? SIGH. They manage to find the yummiest guys possible to play these superheroes. I’m in fangirl heaven when I watch these movies, especially The Avengers.

But there’s something about Ironman that makes this girl weak in the knees. One, its just kind of the guys I like: the sarcastic, humorous, I-act-like-I-don’t-care-but-I-totally-do sort of thing.  I love it. I love that he constantly just looks massively sexy and then he gets into his badass suit and just throws down. I love that he built his suit on his own and his own brain that makes him a superhero, not any special powers. I love that. I mean, superheroes are awesome and all but I love that the whole thing of Ironman comes from Tony Stark’s brain, and his money, sure, but still its awesome.

And seriously, he cracks me up. His movies have the most humor, easily, and he lends a lot of the humor to the Avengers, definitely. I was googling quotes for this post and I just kept laughing and I couldn’t even narrow it down. I had to stop myself from copying and pasting all the lines in here because they are just so funny. I love that Robert Downey Jr is able to represent so many emotions as Ironman. We get cocky, arrogant, confident, sexy, insecure, caring, loyal, angry, vengeful, all sorts of different emotions and you believe all of them, and he looks so good while doing them.

Notable Quotes:

Tony Stark: Well, you can forget it. I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself, which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending on what state you’re in. You can’t have it.
Senator Stern: Look, I’m no expert…
Tony Stark: In prostitution? Of course not, you’re a senator. Come on!

“My bond is with the people, and I will serve this great nation at the pleasure of myself. If there’s one thing I’ve proven it’s that you can count on me to pleasure myself.”

“I told you I don’t want to join your super-secret boy band.”

“You really have got a lid on it, haven’t you? What’s your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?”

“Right. Better clench up, Legolas.”

“And I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.”

 “That man is playing Galaga! Thought we wouldn’t notice. But we did.”

“Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let’s just not come in tomorrow. Let’s just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I wanna try it.”

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City of Heavenly Fire Official Synopsis and Reaction

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Now, here you guys know that I’m not a news site. I don’t post news, because frankly, I have too much going on in my life to keep up with that sort of thing. I wish I did. I try to post as much as I can on the Facebook page but honestly, I just don’t have the patience.

This is a fan experience and fan opinion and all around fangirl site.

But that means I can share the official synopsis of City of Heavenly Fire, and I can share my reaction to it.

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And here is the synopsis:

In the long awaited conclusion to the acclaimed Mortal Instruments series, Clary and her friends fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. 

 

Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Dark Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell.
 
The embattled Shadowhunters withdraw to Idris — but not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay. And with the Nephilim trapped in Idris, who will guard the world against demons? 

 

When one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim has ever known is revealed, Clary, Jace, Isabelle, Simon and Alec must flee –even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned…

 

Love will be sacrificed and lives lost in the terrible battle for the fate of the world in the thrilling final installment of the classic urban fantasy series The Mortal Instruments. 

Jeez.

My heart is breaking and I haven’t even read the book yet. Its going to be a Clockwork Princess kind of night when CoHF is released. I’m going to stay up until 3 or 4 am reading it, and walk around the next day with complete blood shot eyes. Sigh.

Let’s break this down:

“transforms Shadowhunters into creatures out of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers”

That KILLS me. I wonder if any Shadowhunters we know are going to become a dark Shadowhunter the way Amatis did in CoLS. And I hate the way it says lovers. It makes me thing that Luke will be turned against Jocelyn, or vice versa or that Alec or Isabelle or Jace or any of them will turn bad and turn against their friends. It makes me wonder who Sebastian is going to get his claws on.

“not even the famed demon towers of Alicante can keep Sebastian at bay” 

Um, why? What’s going on? He has demon blood so we know that he can knock out the wards, the way he did in City of Glass. Is he just going to march into Idris and take it over?

“the Nephilim are trapped in Idris”

Sebastian is totally taking over Idris. The Shadowhunters are going to be under his thumb while he just wreaks destruction upon the world. Because the word ‘trapped’ means its more than just them seeking refuge there. Trapped suggests that they can’t leave. Why can’t they leave? AGH!

“one of the greatest betrayals the Nephilim has ever known is revealed”

Um, excuse me? What? WHAT? Who is betraying who? Why is it so crazy? What is going on? Ohmygod I can’t stand this kind of anticipation. Who is going to betray who? Is it going to be absolutely heartbreaking? AGH!

“even if their journey takes them deep into the demon realms, where no Shadowhunter has set foot before, and from which no human being has ever returned”

Someone is going to die, someone is going to die, someone is going to die, and my TMI feels can’t handle this because I don’t want Clary or Jace or Isabelle or Alec or Simon to die but one of them is going to die and I’m going to became a tragic mess.

Basically all this as shown me is that I am so incredibly unprepared for the release of City of Heavenly Fire. I honestly have no idea how I am going to handle it but its going to be an emotional night. And I can’t wait for it.

What are your reactions to the official City of Heavenly Fire synopsis? Share in the comments! 

Book of the Week-The Last Forever

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The Last Forever by Deb Caletti

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GoodReads / Barnes and Noble / Amazon / Book Depository

Genre:

Young Adult, view Contemporary, dosage Romance

Part of a Series?:

No

You May Like if You Liked:

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Age Recommendation:

13+

Plot Summary:

From GoodReads:

Endings and beginnings sit so close to each other that it’s sometimes impossible to tell which is which.

Nothing lasts forever, and no one gets that more than Tessa. After her mother died, it’s all she can do to keep her friends, her boyfriend, her happiness from slipping away. And then there’s her dad. He’s stuck in his own daze, and it’s so hard to feel like a family when their house no longer seems like a home.

Her father’s solution? An impromptu road trip that lands them in a small coastal town at Tessa’s grandmother’s. Despite all the warmth and beauty there, Tessa can’t help but feel even more lost.

Enter Henry Lark. He understands the relationships that matter. And more importantly, he understands her. A secret stands between them, but Tessa’s willing to do anything to bring them together—because Henry may just be her one chance at forever.

My Review: 

Deb Caletti is an author that I’ve been reading for quite a few years now, and eagerly anticipate each and every release of hers. This book was no different. I was also determined to finish it quickly because she will be attending the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this weekend and I am so excited to finally meet her! It’s going to be fantastic.

The thing that always impresses me about Deb Caletti’s books is that you would think after 9 YA books (and one adult books), things would start to get repetitive. Predictable. But that isn’t actually what happens. She surprises me every single time I read a book. I read the synopsis and wondered for a moment if I was going to be able to predict the ending or if I might get bored by it.

And I wasn’t at all. Deb Caletti has a way of telling such a familiar, deep story no matter what book it is. She’s such a beautiful writer. She has the ability to write an incredibly well written novel while also making it sound like we are in the mind of a typical teenager. We go through all the feelings that Tessa is going through, while Deb paints a beautiful picture of the story, and that’s what I love about this book. It somehow manages to keep those things that we come to know from capital-L literature and makes it a young adult story with that recognizable young adult voice.

What really got me about this book is that it seems like it would be a romance story, and while there is definitely a part of that, for me, it was a story about family, and the strange ways that you lose it and find it. The way a loss can change you and how to deal with that kind of loss. I seem to be reading a lot of books about loss and grief lately and it amazes me to see the similarities and differences in which a person deals with grief and I think that’s the beauty of it. Tessa is searching for her mother in something, and she holds her mother close in a little plant named Pix that her mother has left behind for her.

The story of Pix and the fight for the plant’s survival is a huge part of why I couldn’t stop reading. Tessa is obsessed with this plant, but its gaining her friends, its opening up a relationship with her grandmother, and its giving her purpose after the loss of her mother. She is able to find her mother in that plant and both hold onto the memories of her mother while also moving on into a new chapter of her life.

The relationship between Tessa and Henry in the book is unexpected and interesting to read about and I loved watching it from beginning to end, unsure of where it would end up. They both learn so much from each other, and its unlike most relationships that we see in a YA novel and I love that. I love seeing a unique take on romance, and friendship and family.

The Last Word

You can never go wrong with a Deb Caletti book. She has 9 of them out there, and I honestly don’t think any of them are a bad place to start. The Secret Life of Prince Charming and The Nature of Jade are my two favorites but this is another winning novel from Deb Caletti. She captures a beautiful story of handling grief and moving on, and find purpose. I can’t wait to meet her this Sunday and tell her how much I loved this book!

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April Book Events

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I apologize for this being so late guys. I’ve been massively busy. This month (for me) is Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, malady WonderCon and Pasadena Teen Book Fest and I’m getting ready for Ontario Teen Book Fest next month so it’s just NUTS. But here are some events to enjoy in the month of April!

 

April 7th:

Las Vegas, NV: D.J. MacHale at Barnes and Noble, Rainbow Promenade at 7 pm

New York, NY: Ann Brashares at Barnes and Noble at 7 pm

St. Louis, MO: Melissa de la Cruz at St. Louis County Library at 7 pm

April 8th:

Albuquerque, NM: Laini Taylor at Bookworks at 7 pm

Frisco, TX: Melissa de la Cruz at Fresh Fiction Event at 7 pm

Woodstock, GA: Ridley Pearson at Barnes and Noble at 4:30 pm

April 9th:

Austin, TX: Laini Taylor (In Conversation with Margaret Stohl) at Barnes and Noble at 7 pm

April 10th:

Burbank, CA: Amy Tintera at Theater Banshee at 8 pm

Huntington Beach, CA: John Corey Whaley at Barnes and Noble Bella Terra at 7 pm

San Antonio, TX: Laini Taylor at Barnes and Noble at 7 pm

San Antonio, TX: TLA Conference. Check website for full list of authors.

April 11th:

Atlanta, GA: JordanCon 6

Dallas, TX: Amy Talkington at Barnes and Noble at 7 pm

San Diego, CA: J.R. Johannson, Debra Driza, Shannon Messenger, Nancy Holder and Rachel Hawkins at Mysterious Galaxy at 7 pm

April 12th:

Atlanta, GA: JordanCon 6

Las Vegas, NV: Jessica Brody at Barnes and Noble Rainbow Promenade at 2 pm

Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Time Festival of Books at USC

April 13th:

Atlanta, GA: JordanCon 6

Huntington Beach, CA: Laini Taylor at Barnes and Noble Bella Terra at 2 pm

Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC

Tigard, OR: Kimberly Derting at Barnes and Noble at 3 pm

April 14th:

Manhattan Beach, CA: DJ MacHale at Pages Bookstore at 7 pm

Menlo Park, CA: Laini Taylor at Kepler’s Books at 7 pm

Pasadena, CA: Melissa de la Cruz at Vroman’s Bookstore at 7 pm

Tigard, OR: Kelley Armstrong at Barnes and Noble at 5:30 pm

April 15th:

Alameda, CA: Laini Taylor at Books Inc at 7 pm

Naperville, IL: Deb Caletti at Anderson’s Bookshop at 7 pm

New York City, NY: Jennifer E. Smith at McNally Jackson

Richmond, VA: Jenny Han at Barnes and Noble at 7 pm

San Diego, CA: Melissa de la Cruz at Mysterious Galaxy at 7 pm

April 16th:

Beaverton, OR: Laini Taylor at Powell’s Books at 7 pm

Beaverton, OR: Marissa Meyer at Beaverton Library at 6 pm

New York, NY: Sara Benincasa at Books of Wonder at 5 pm

April 17th: 

New York, NY: Michelle Madow, Kady Cross, Maria V. Snyder, Dawn Metcalf, Cara Lynn Shultz, and Amalie Howard at Books of Wonder at 6 pm 

April 18th:

Anaheim, CA: WonderCon

New York, NY: Jenny Han Launch Party at Books of Wonder at 6 pm

April 19th:

Anaheim, CA: WonderCon

Easton, PA: YA Fest at Easton Area Public Library

Hampton, VA: Jodi Meadows at Barnes and Noble at 1 pm

Salt Lake City, UT: Salt Lake City Comic Con FanXPerience

Santa Clarita, CA: Sarah Skilton at Barnes and Noble at 1 pm

April 20th:

Anaheim, CA: WonderCon

April 21st:

 

April 22nd:

Orem, UT: Shannon Hale at Barnes and Noble at 7 pm

April 23rd:

WORLD BOOK NIGHT!!!!!

Brookeline, MA: Laini Taylor at The Children’s Bookshop at 7 pm

Shreveport, LA: John Corey Whaley at Barnes and Noble Bayou Walk at 6:30 pm

April 24th:

Carle Place, NY: Jen Calonita Launch Party at 7 pm

South Hadley, MA: Laini Taylor at Odyssey Books at 7 pm

April 25th:

Bowling Green, KY: Southern Kentucky Book Festival

Layton, UT: Brandon Sanderson at LDStoryMakers

North Merrick, NY: Jen Calonita at North Merrick Public Library at 6:30 pm

April 26th:

Bowling Green, KY: Southern Kentucky Book Festival

Federal Way, WA: Kimberly Derting at Barnes and Noble at 1 pm

Houston, TX: Teen BookCon. Check out website for more details.

Pasadena, CA: Pasadena Teen Book Festival at Pasadena Public Library

April 27th:

Des Moines, IA: Jennifer Armentrout, Jay Crownover and Cora Carmack at Des Moines Public Library

Highlands Ranch, CO: Ann Brashares at Tattered Cover Bookstore at 3 pm

April 28th:

Boulder, CO: Ann Brashares at Barnes and Noble at 7 pm

Naperville, IL: John Corey Whaley at Anderson’s Bookshop at 7 pm

April 29th:

 

April 30th:

Milwaukee, WI: John Corey Whaley at Boswell’s Book Company at 7 pm

Wenatchee, WA: Marissa Meyer at North Central Regional Library at 7 pm

Fictional Crush of the Week-Percy Jackson of Percy Jackson and the Olympians and the Heroes of Olympus

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That was a really long title haha.

Character Name:

Percy Jackson

Sea-of-Monsters

Book or Series They Appear In:

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series

The Lightning Thief, order The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’s Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, The Last Olympian

The Heroes of Olympus Series

The Lost Hero, The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, The House of Hades, The Blood of Olympus (not yet released)

Author/Creator:

Rick Riordan

Played By: 

Logan Lerman

Who They Are:

I’m going to remind you guys again because I”m still getting complaints. My FCotW’s WILL be spoiler filled. Sorry. I’ve warned you so much time haha. 

Percy Jackson is the main character of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and one of seven important characters in the Heroes of Olympus series. He battles with ADHD and dyslexia his whole life until one day, he discovers that he’s a demigod and that his ADD is to due to his being programmed for battle and being equipped to read Ancient Greek. He is the son of Poseidon and therefore could be the one to fulfill a world changing (perhaps, world ending) prophecy. Together, with his friends Annabeth and Grover, and the rest of the demigods of Camp Half Blood, they must fight to keep Kronos from taking over the world, and throwing it into chaos.

In the Heroes of Olympus, Percy is once again part of a prophecy that involves six other demigods. He has his memory erased, and ends up at a different Camp, where the demigods of the Roman versions of the gods and goddesses live. He helps to bring together the seven of the prophecy so that they can stop Gaea from rising and taking over. (Poor demigods, always fighting big bad guys). In that series, his relationship with Annabeth deepens and he drops into Tartarus with her, and together, they fight their way through to get to the doors, and escape. Now we’re all just waiting patiently for the fifth and final book! AGH!

Why I Am Crushing On Them: 

Can I just talk about the fact that its kind of not okay to have a crush on Percy until..at least The Battle of the Labyrinth haha. I mean, he’s like ten years old. That’s creepy. I think I was one of very few people that didn’t mind that they’d aged him up a bit in the movies. But we won’t talk about those haha.

In the books, we find out that Percy’s fatal flaw is that he is unfailingly loyal and committed to his friends. I think that’s exactly why I like him. He ALWAYS risks his life for them. He crosses oceans and fights gods and Titans and all kinds of creatures to keep them safe. He literally drops into Tartarus to be with Annabeth because he doesn’t want to let her go. Who wouldn’t want a friend, or a boyfriend, like that? Someone that incredibly selfless doesn’t actually exist though because, of course, we all have our degrees of selfishness in us, but its nice to have a massive crush on Percy Jackson anyway.

I also love the obsession with blue food. I love that he loves blue Coke and blue cookies and all that stuff. And its more than just the idea of blue food. Its the fact that the blue food thing is a bond between him and his mom. Even when they are stuck with gross Gabe, Sally Jackson still finds a way to shut him down and that’s with the blue food. It’s something that the two of them always have and I love that it means so much to Percy that when he goes to Camp Half Blood and he thinks she’s gone, the first thing he has is a blue Coke. I love it.

Plus Percy is just so funny. The reason that first series is so popular (amongst a million another reasons) is because the narrator, the main character, Percy, is just SO funny. He’s out there, finding out he’s a demigod and trying to save the world and constantly fighting big bad gods or Titans or monsters, and he does it all with a smile and a joke and he makes me laugh. He has a sarcasm that makes those books so good. I love a funny and sarcastic character.

Notable Quotes:

“I nodded, looking at Rachel with respect. “You hit the Lord of the Titans in the eye with a blue plastic hairbrush.”

“Percy: Don’t I get a kiss for luck? It’s kind of a tradition, right?
Annabeth: Come back alive, Seaweed Brain. Then we’ll see.”

“Afterward, I had the last laugh. I made an air bubble at the bottom of the lake. Our friends kept waiting for us to come up, but hey-when you are the son of Poseidon, you don’t have to hurry. And it was pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time.”

“We’re staying together,” he promised. “You’re not getting away from me. Never again.”

All around the Romans, Charleston Harbor erupted like a Las Vegas fountain putting on a show. When the wall of seawater subsided, the three Romans were in the bay, spluttering and frantically trying to stay afloat in their armor. Percy stood on the dock, holding Annabeth’s dagger.
“You dropped this,” he said, totally poker-faced.” (OHMYGOD)

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